1987 BYU Hall of Fame

Richard George came to BYU as a freshman in 1971, after an already illustrious career in high school track, football, and basketball competition at Millard High (Millard, Utah).

At the age of 15 Richard set a world record for his age group with a 224-foot javelin throw, and won first place in the discuss that year at the state meet. He garnered all-state recognition his senior year in basketball, junior and senior years in football, and sophomore through senior years in track and field, as well as being named All-American in all three sports and winning the Tom McAn trophy his senior year.

After a season of freshman football at BYU, Richard left the other sports behind and began concentrating on the event that brought him world recognition - the javelin.

Despite a nagging elbow injury his freshman year, Richard came in second in the Western Athletic Conference with a throw of 253 feet. After a mission to Alabama and Florida, he returned and continued his career in track, placing fifth at the NCAA competition in 1975, but went on to become the national AAU champion later that year with a toss of 272 feet 11 inches.

The WAC champion each of his final three years on the team, Richard won a bronze medal at the World Games in Helsinki on a European tour following his sophomore year, then went on to place second at the NCAA finals and first at the AAU meet his junior year. The following summer he took second at the Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon, and competed on the United States Olympic Team in Montreal. There he made the best throw of his career (287 feet) in practice, but a series of misfortunes kept him from meeting the 259-foot qualifying mark in competition.

A three-time All-American in college, Richard graduated from BYU in 1977 with a degree in economics.